


I Didn't Plan to Fall in Love With You

by thelonelywave



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Associate Professor Rey, Domestic Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Professor Ben Solo, Romance, Sharing a Bed, angst but lowkey, based on a tumblr prompt, the fake dating au I never thought I'd write
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-07-19 09:13:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19971595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelonelywave/pseuds/thelonelywave
Summary: “Excuse me? Please tell me this is just one of those caffeine-fueled nightmares that I get when I fall asleep at my desk,” Rey whined, digging her fingers into her temples where a headache was blooming. Ben tugged a hand through his already messy dark hair.“The idea of being my girlfriend is a nightmare for you,” he repeated incredulously, leveling a glare that would have made anyone else shake in their boots at her. Rey groaned, and shook her head.“You told your mom, the scariest woman I have ever seen, that you,” she poked a finger across the desk at him, “and I were dating. And not only did you lie to her, you told her that we would BOTH be attending Thanksgiving with your entire family.”Rey Niima certainly had not planned on spending her Thanksgiving with her colleague Dr. Ben Organa-Solo's family. But when he tells Leia that he's bringing his girlfriend Rey to dinner, she doesn't seem to have another choice in the matter. Chaos, family fun times, and maybe even a little bit of romance ensue.





	1. Previously on: Chaotic Stupid

“Excuse me? Please tell me this is just one of those caffeine-fueled nightmares that I get when I fall asleep at my desk,” Rey whined, digging her fingers into her temples where a headache was blooming. Ben tugged a hand through his already messy dark hair.

“The idea of being my girlfriend is a nightmare for you,” he repeated incredulously, leveling a glare that would have made anyone else shake in their boots at her. Rey groaned, and shook her head.

“You told your mom, the scariest woman I have ever seen, that you,” she poked a finger across the desk at him, “and I were dating. And not only did you lie to her, you told her that we would BOTH be attending Thanksgiving with your entire family.” What scared Ben the most about this situation was not the prospect of his family finding him out to be a liar. No, that would be fine. They were used to disappointment. It was the complete calmness that his associate professor, the only one who was willing to work with him in the entire university, had adopted during the conversation. Ben had known Rey for two years, and she was nothing if not emotive. If she wasn’t talking with her hands and facial expressions, she was liable to commit murder.

Across the desk, Rey took a series of calming breaths. While she wasn’t pissed off at the situation per se, she was mad that he hadn’t thought to consult her about everything earlier. And beyond that, Rey had a bit of a crush on him. She never planned to do anything about it, especially since they were coworkers. Now she had to fake being his girlfriend in front of his entire family. No big deal.

Ben’s knee started bouncing, and he started drumming his fingers on his closed laptop. “So will you do it or not?” He winced internally at the harshness of his words, but he was growing impatient. 

“Yes. Fine, I’ll do it. But you owe me. You owe me so so much,” she declared, pushing her rolling chair away from the desk and standing up. 

“How about dinner?” he blurted out, “Just so that we can go over our story and everything. And talk about midterms.” Ben’s face went bright red, and she could see him fighting the urge to mess with his hair again.

Rey pretended to consider his offer for a second, tilting her head to the side in deliberation. “Sure, but only if it’s Maz’s, and you pay.”

“Deal.”

\---------------

Rey dug into her waffles like she hadn’t eaten in weeks. Maz made the best breakfast food in Naboo, and her diner was open all day and all night. Maz’s was mythic in the eyes of both the staff and students of the University of Varykino, and Rey had fallen in love with the quirky diner instantly. It's retro flooring with neon yellow walls and bright red booths had a charm that you couldn't find anywhere else nearby. Ben was not of the same tastes. Maz’s smelled like grease and maple syrup, and he knew the cloying stench would cling to his jacket for weeks.

“So,” Rey began around a mouthful of syrup-drenched waffle, “how much did you tell them about me?” 

Ben cringed internally at her manners, but answered anyways as he systematically shredded his waffle. “Not much,” he mumbled, “just that we work together and that you co-teach my philosophy classes. And that you’re working on your doctorate. That was really it.” That was certainly not all that he had mentioned when his notoriously nosy mother had given him the third degree. He wasn’t going to tell her that though. 

“I can work with that. How did we start dating? Love at first sight? Did you pick me up at a bar? Oh, our students started shipping us and we decided to see what would happen!” Rey teased, propping her chin up on her hands. Flustering Ben was a hobby and a skill that had been carefully built up over the past two years. 

“Shipping? What even is that?” Ben questioned with his eyebrows scrunched. God, he could be so adorable sometimes, Rey thought. 

She laughed. “Your age is showing, old man. It’s when you think two people would make a cute couple and you want them to date.” 

“That’s weird, but whatever. I might have told her that I asked you out one night and that we ended up getting along and you ended up being my co-prof and we kept dating and now we live together and we’ve been dating for a year and Imayhavetoldherthatweweregoingtolivetogether.” His face had gone an even brighter shade of red, stretching up to his ears that just stuck out of his unruly hair. Rey’s eyes widened. Ben continued with his word vomit, “But don’t worry, it’s only for the holiday weekend and then we can ‘break up’ and everything will go back to the way it was before, okay?” He was breathing hard after his impromptu speech, and a strand of his hair fell over his left eye. 

She softened a little from before. It was obvious that he really wanted to impress his family, and from the conversations she’d had with Ben, she couldn’t blame him. His mother was a high-achieving senator from Alderaan, and his father had been her rough-around-the-edges Secret Service agent. Ben Organa-Solo had big shoes to fill, and social anxiety and total disdain for politics had turned him into an outcast within his own family. He railed against structure until he had wound up an English and philosophy double major in Varykino, all things his mother had disapproved of greatly. He’d graduated with his bachelors and masters degrees in four years, and had his doctorate in philosophy by the time he was twenty-five. The university immediately offered the prickly man a position among the faculty and ten years later, he was still there. Rey also knew that he was trying to mend his relationship with his mother, despite him evading the topic when it came up in conversation. She could understand his dislike for family talk, what with being orphaned in her youth. Just because she survived Plutt didn't mean she wanted to relive it. 

“It’s okay, Ben. We’ll figure it out together, yeah?” She smiled brilliantly.

“Yeah,” he smiled shakily, taking a deep breath for the first time that night. “I’ll drive us up to the lakehouse on Wednesday since classes are over. It’ll be maybe three or four hours at most, and then we can drive home on Friday and have the weekend off. Is that okay?” She nodded, crossing her legs under her in the booth as he continued. “My uncle, Leia’s twin Luke, will probably be there. He’s, uh, kind of a hermit. He inherited my grandfather’s land and hasn’t really left the property since then. Chewie and Lando will be there too. They were Han’s buddies when he worked for the Service, and they’re kinda weird but they’re kind of my uncles. The only other person I could think of that would go is Leia’s old assistant, Amilyn Holdo, from when she was a senator.”

“I bet she never had to fake-date Leia when they worked together,” she mumbled under her breath.

“What was that?” Ben asked, gaze shifting to Rey. 

She smirked mischievously. “Nothing, I said nothing.” 

Ben narrowed his eyes, but chose not to dignify her with a reaction. Instead he decided to fumble with the check that had been laid down sometime during their conversation. He slid his credit card into the folder, and caught Rey’s gaze again as the waitress picked up the check. “Anyways, so I’ll pick you up at your place at nine a.m. on Wednesday, okay? And if at anytime anything makes you uncomfortable, just tell me and I’ll call it off. I really don’t want to jeopardize our friendship more than I already am.” His full lips pulled into a frown. “I’m sorry for putting you in this position, Rey.” 

She shook her head as they both slid out of the booth. “Listen Ben, I wouldn’t have said yes if I didn’t mean it. We’ll be fine, really, how bad could it be?”

The answer was very, very wrong. 


	2. Socialization? Yikes.

Two days later, Rey stood clutching a duffle bag outside of her apartment building at exactly five minutes to nine. The weather matched her mood, overcast and dreary despite it being late November. Ben had managed to give her only the barest details about what to wear or what to expect. She could tell he was embarrassed to have put her in this situation, but he could be a little more helpful. To accommodate for it, she had packed most of her meagre closet into her bag. On the plus side, she had options. As for the negatives, well, she was now holding an overstuffed duffle bag for going on the twentieth minute. Ben was officially annoyingly late, and her hair was damp and not from the shower she had taken the night before. 

“The least he could have done was tell me that he was running late,” Rey muttered under her breath, wincing as she set her bag into a growing puddle. She fumbled in her purse for her phone, yanking it out and selecting ‘Professor Everest’ from her contact list. Ben didn’t know about the nickname, but a freshman in one of their classes from last semester had sighed, “God, I wanna climb that man like Mount Everest,” and Rey was almost on the floor in laughter. From that day on, he was Professor Everest. And Mr. Everest was not answering any of her phone calls. Damp and irritated, Rey yanked her bag off of the concrete and stomped back into her apartment building, slamming the door behind her.

Twenty minutes later, her phone rang. “I am so sorry.”

“Hello to you too, Dr. Solo. How is your day going so far? Mine is just great. I spent twenty minutes in the rain, and I probably have a cold by now,” Rey snarked, grabbing her duffle for the second time this morning. She slammed her door shut behind her and locked it, rushing down two flights of stairs to the front door. Rey hung up the phone at his silence to her sarcasm as she approached his car.

“I lost track of time and I should’ve called earlier and I’m sorry. I’m outside your building right now and I have that sugary stuff that you drink every day, and a croissant from the coffee shop on 10th and Bespin,” he said as he walked around the back of his black Mercedes and opened the trunk. Ben took the bag off of her shoulder and slid it in next to his, and then ran around to the passenger door to open in for Rey. How Ben could both kill and revive chivalry in the same day, Rey didn’t know, but her favorite coffee and a croissant was on her seat so she didn’t dwell on it as she slid into the car. 

“How did you know that this was what I get?” She questioned, turning to face Ben as he reversed out of his parking spot and onto the main road.

Ben scoffed. “You’ve gotten a large iced coffee with coconut milk and enough sugar to keep a kid up for weeks since the first semester we taught together.” His face flushed at the admission, but his eyes didn’t leave the road in front of him. Rey smiled to herself and settled in to her seat. With interesting conversations like these, it was going to be a long four hours.

\-------

After his admission that he’d been paying more attention that she had credited him for, conversation had trickled off. They had made passing remarks about the weather and how midterms had gone for their students, but nothing deeper beyond that. 

Rey began to scrutinize Ben’s face for entertainment since being on her phone in the car made her sick. She could definitely admit to herself that she found him attractive; messy hair and somewhat unproportional features and all. His lips were what drew her in most often, and sometimes when he lectured in class she allowed herself to imagine what they would feel like touching her own. If only this was real...how disappointing.

“Have you seen that movie on Netflix where the guy fake dates a girl so her sister’s ex doesn’t think she likes him?” Rey asked. Rose thought that watching To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before would be a fun girl’s night activity, so they’d watched the film. She’d freak out if Rey told her she was really fake dating her co-worker and longtime crush, so Rey may have left that detail out when they discussed holiday plans. What Rose didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.

“I, uh, don’t really watch Netflix. I don’t have time. When I do it’s for class or a documentary or something.” Yikes. The man really needs a hobby.

“They made a contract for the terms of their relationship and everything, you know? Like boundaries, where they’d go together, that kinda stuff. He even agreed to watch Sixteen Candles if she’d watch Fight Club. Who hasn’t seen Sixteen Candles or the Breakfast Club?” Rey ranted. Okay, so maybe she had paid a tiny bit of attention during Rose’s movie. Just a tad.

“I’ve never seen Sixteen Candles or the Breakfast Club,” Ben asserted as he changed lanes. 

“How can you possibly be a millenial and not have seen the Breakfast Club? I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who hasn’t seen it! It’s iconic!” Rey shouted as she turned to fully face Ben as he drove. “It is the embodiment of teenaged rebellion and high school and sticking it to the man!” She was nearly bouncing in her seat with enthusiasm. It might have been one of her favorite movies. “We have to watch it when we get back.” Ben swallowed hard. 

“We?” he questioned, “You don’t have to pretend that you like me or want to spend time with me after Friday, you know that right?”

“I’m sorry, I was under the impression that after two years of spending six days a week together that we were friends,” Rey’s mood soured, “I guess I was wrong.” If he didn’t even see them as friends, he definitely wouldn’t be interested in her beyond their fake relationship. Even that was out of convenience to him.

“Friends?” Ben repeated softly, like the word would bite him if he said it too loudly. 

“Um, yes of course. I didn’t invite you to events that my department was putting on because I felt obligated to. I thought it would be fun, you know, to get to know you more outside of the classroom and discussing syllabi and stuff.” Rey worked mostly in the Philosophy department, but she still made time to aid in the Engineering department after double majoring in mechanical engineering and philosophy. Rose had connections within Ben’s department, and had used them to help Rey get to her current position as associate professor. Despite Ben being a full-time, tenure-tracked doctor, he could be very stupid on occasion. 

“Oh. I’m sorry. I don’t exactly get out much,” Ben cracked an attempt at a smile, but it came out more as a grimace. 

“It’s okay, Ben, just keep it in mind.” Time to change the subject. “Can we stop and get food?”

Ben flicked his gaze to Rey’s for a second and then turned back to the road. “Didn’t I feed you an hour ago? We’re barely out of Naboo.”

“First of all, dad, it was an hour and a half ago. I don’t have a second of all but I’m hungry and a croissant is not enough food for me. Can we get McDonalds? Please?” 

“Ugh, fine since I guess I still owe you. We’re getting Wendy’s though because McDonald’s doesn’t count as real food,” Ben affirmed, changing lanes to get off at the next exit.

\--------  
“Got enough food there, Rey?” he teased as she balanced a medium fry, ten nuggets, and all of her sauces as well as her cherry coke on a tray.

“Did you know,” Rey set her tray down and snagged a fry off of her tray, “that when I was younger, I had to work for my food? If I didn’t work hard enough in the yard at Plutt’s, he wouldn’t let me eat dinner?” Ben’s eyes dropped, and then he was no longer making contact with hers. His whole body slumped.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” he murmured, still not making eye contact, “I won’t bring it up again.”

“Hey,” Rey said, reaching across the table to grab his hand, “you didn’t know because I didn’t tell you before. Now you know. Plus, shouldn’t we be getting to know each other better since we live together?” she smiled sunnily, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles. Ben’s back straightened like he had been shocked, and then feigned that he was stretching to cover it. He didn’t pull away though.

“I guess you’re right. So, Rey, what kind of literature do you enjoy?” he asked, using his free hand to take a bite out of his sandwich. 

“You don’t have to be so formal with me,” she teased, finishing off her fries. “But to answer your question, my favorite genre is fantasy, and my favorite book is Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. And yes, I am aware it is a children’s novel. I love an underdog though, and you can’t deny that there’s a certain appeal to a magical universe existing alongside our own.” Surprisingly Ben nodded along, and they began discussing Hogwarts Houses and whether Hermione and Ron were a good match. Rey was vehemently against the pairing, but Ben argued that they had been predestined to be together from the beginning and complemented one another.

Neither realized that they were still holding hands.


	3. That's Not How Problem-Solving Works, But Okay

“Classic rock is the best genre of music ever produced, and everyone else is a liar. You cannot find better music than AC/DC and Bruce Springsteen. They haven’t made anything half as good since,” Ben enthused as they got closer to his parent’s lakehouse. 

Rey’s laughter rang out, “I didn’t peg you for a rock kinda guy, to be honest. I kind of thought you spent all your time in your office listening to Mozart or something. Besides, there has been good music since what, the early nineties? Have you never heard of Maroon 5?”

“I have and they’re okay, but seriously nothing beats Back in Black. So,” he turned on to a backroad, “what kind of music do you listen to? Let me guess, Taylor Swift?” His eyes shined with mirth. 

“Hey, Reputation was a good album! But no, I think the closest genre to what I like is indie. I love Hozier and Bon Iver. I like that a lot of it is peaceful. I will admit that I do listen to pop music too though. It makes it easier to relate to the students, not that you’d know anything about that Dr. Organa-Solo,” she teased, turning to look out of her window. Rey had never seen this much green in her whole life and her eyes widened in awe.

“I’d argue with that, but I don’t think you’re wrong,” Ben admitted, and he frowned. 

“I’ll introduce you to Netflix when we get home,” Rey said breathlessly, gaze still locked to the window. They had turned into the estate’s driveway, and the landscape was gorgeous. Lush trees framed a massive red-brown house, and she was in love immediately with the lake house.  


Ben shifted into park, and sighed deeply. “Okay, be yourself, and if she offers baby pictures, just say no.”

“You are not depriving me of that experience! When your boyfriend’s mother offers, the only appropriate answer is yes.” As though she was summoned, Leia Organa opened the deep brown colored door and stepped outside, a massive golden lab trailing by her side.

Rey barely got out of the car before the big dog nearly knocked her to the ground. 

“Shit, Artoo, get back here! You can’t run over the pretty girl! He might never bring one home again,” Leia yelled, rushing over to pull Artoo off of her. 

Before Rey had time to recover from the first attack, Leia pulled her into a crushing hug. “Hello dear, it’s nice to finally meet you! Ben has told us so much about you.” She couldn’t see Ben’s face, but she could imagine that it had gone red all the way to his ears as he pulled there bags out of the trunk.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Mrs. Organa,” Rey mumbled, muffled by the crushing embrace.

Leia pulled back but kept a grip on her arms. “None of that Mrs. Organa stuff. It makes me feel old,” she declared, “You can call me Leia, or Mom if you want to. It’s not everyday that grumpy over there brings a girl home.” 

Ben finished messing around with the bags and finally walked over to greet his mother. He awkwardly wrapped an arm around the short woman as she dragged him down to her height for a hug. Rey wished she had her phone in her pocket so that she could have the picture for after the weekend was over. Ben contorting to shrink a whole foot and being strong-armed by his petite mother was something she was bound to remember forever.

Leia finally released him and gestured toward the door. “How about you and Ben get settled in his room and then you can come back down and meet the family? And then maybe,” she lowered her voice conspiratorially, “I can pull out some of the baby pictures I’ve been saving.” Ben groaned, but Rey giggled. Despite their estrangement, he had described his mother perfectly during their discussions. She couldn’t help but think that it was going to be a great holiday break.

\----  
“Fuck!” Ben exclaimed once they were out of earshot of his mother.

“What’s wrong?” Rey questioned as they hiked with their bags up the wooden stairs to the second floor. 

“I didn’t consider that everyone would be at the house this week,” he groaned, “and she’d notice if I slept in one of the other rooms. And I told her we were moving in together too! Damn it.”

“Is that the really long way of telling me that we’re going to have to share a bed this week?” Rey raised an eyebrow, as she hadn’t even considered it. When she did, she found that the notion of sharing the space with him didn’t bother her as much as she assumed it should.

Ben nodded wordlessly, and opened the door to his room for her to enter through. A massive bed sat in the middle of the dark green room, covered in a deep chocolate colored comforter and matching pillows. Opposite to the bed was a wood-burning fireplace with a flatscreen television mounted above it. Rey dropped her duffle bag and dramatically sprawled herself across the bed.

Ben made a semi-choked noise in surprise. She wasn’t the first girl that he had shared a bed with, but seeing her there in his space was astonishing nonetheless. He tamped down on his inappropriate thoughts that it brought about. Come on Ben, she doesn’t think about you like that at all. She’s just being nice. 

And then, shocking him yet again, Rey announced, “I’m fine with sharing a bed if you are. I mean, we’re both adults, and it’s not that big of a deal anyways. I’ve shared a bed with Finn and Poe before and it was okay.” 

Ben backtracked to that statement. “Wait, is there some guy that’s going to threaten to beat me up or something for fake dating you?” he asked worriedly, running his hand through his hair so hard that it stuck straight up.

Rey lazily sat up in his bed. “Maybe,” she shrugged nonchalantly.

“Rey!” Ben’s voice rose an octave in pitch, and she began laughing hysterically.

“No, Ben, you have nothing to worry about from them. I didn’t tell them that we were dating, and you don’t have to worry about any ‘competition’ coming after you,” she said, rolling off of the bed and onto her feet. Rey approached where Ben was standing, entering his personal space. Time to play Fluster Ben again. “Besides, Finn only has eyes for Poe anyways. Now,” Rey came to a stop barely a foot away from Ben, “what kind of physical contact will they be expecting? Since you shot down my contract idea in the car, we’re going to have to come to an agreement now. So, hand-holding and touchiness is kind of a given, but is kissing expected?” His eyes shot down to her lips and then back up to her eyes, and he swallowed hard. “I just want to make this convincing, right?”

“Right,” he repeated back, voice cracking lightly. “Um, I think that kissing is okay,” Ben stuttered, “as long as it’s fine with you?” Rey swore that for a moment he almost looked hopeful, but he went back to hiding behind a mask. Rey had the fleeting thought that he may return her feelings for him, but shot it down immediately. He just wants to make Leia happy.

“I wouldn’t have mentioned it if it wasn’t,” Rey affirmed, and then daringly added, “Should we, you know, get the first one over with now so it’s not weird later?” Ben honestly thought he had swallowed his tongue for a second, and then nodded enthusiastically when he realized she was serious. 

Rey stepped forward so that they were chest to chest. Despite her height, Ben still had five inches on her. She reached up and set her hand on his cheek, gently pulling him down so that they were on more even ground. He was still staring at her intensely when he softly cupped her cheek, mirroring her movement. They slowly grew closer, and Ben’s eyes fell shut when they were a hair's breadth away.

Their lips had barely met when--  
“Benjamin Skywalker Solo-Organa, I sent you upstairs to unpack, not make me grandbabies!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops, did you really think I'd let them kiss uninterrupted?
> 
> btw, thank you so much for the response this has received. I've never been so driven to write something before so I'm excited to see where this goes!!
> 
> please leave me feedback in the comments bc I thrive on it!


	4. Innuendos and Awkwardness

His eyes shot down to her lips and then back up to her eyes, and he swallowed hard. “I just want to make this convincing, right?”

“Right,” he repeated back, voice cracking lightly. “Um, I think that kissing is okay,” Ben stuttered, “as long as it’s fine with you?” Rey swore that for a moment he almost looked hopeful, but he went back to hiding behind a mask. Rey had the fleeting thought that he may return her feelings for him, but shot it down immediately. He just wants to make Leia happy.

“I wouldn’t have mentioned it if it wasn’t,” Rey affirmed, and then daringly added, “Should we, you know, get the first one over with now so it’s not weird later?” Ben honestly thought he had swallowed his tongue for a second, and then nodded enthusiastically when he realized she was serious. 

Rey stepped forward so that they were chest to chest. Despite her height, Ben still had five inches on her. She reached up and set her hand on his cheek, gently pulling him down so that they were on more even ground. He was still staring at her intensely when he softly cupped her cheek, mirroring her movement. They slowly grew closer, and Ben’s eyes fell shut when they were a hair's breadth away.

Their lips had barely met when--  
“Benjamin Skywalker Solo-Organa, I sent you upstairs to unpack, not make me grandbabies!”

Ben and Rey shot apart, faces blazing in embarrassment

“I am so, so sorry, Rey. I cannot believe that she just said that,” Ben said hotly, eyes cast down with his hand on the back of his neck.

“Don’t worry,” she assured, smiling mischievously at him. “We can always try again later.” For the second time in fifteen minutes, Ben was struck dumbfounded. Before he could formulate a reply to that, Rey turned and began the trek back downstairs. 

——

By the time he collected himself and made it to the living room, Leia had begun introducing Rey to the rest of the ragtag group referred to as his family. 

“This is my husband, Han, and those two idiots with the stupid looks on their faces are Chewie and Lando. Don’t let them try to fool you, they are children and will act like it if given the chance,” Leia announced, rolling her eyes at her husband’s best friends before retreating to the kitchen.

Han stepped forward, dramatically grabbing Rey’s hand and dropping a kiss on it without breaking eye contact with her. “It’s nice to finally meet the woman that can stand that ugly mug for more than five minutes. Is he paying you?” He asked mirthfully. Oh, this is going to be so much fun, Rey thought gleefully. The firsthand experience of Han Solo was none like any other, but she wasn’t about to let him trash her boyfriend, fake or not.

Rey gestured for Han to come in closer, and then whispered in his ear, “Big nose, big ears, big hands…I’ve found him to be quite proportional everywhere.”

Han froze, pulling back to stare at her in awe before whooping loudly and pulling her into a hug. “She’s a keeper, boys!” He yelled to Lando and Chewie, who had been spectating the show from behind him. To Ben’s confusion, Rey was pulled into a group hug with his father and pseudo-uncles. First he gets insulted, and then Rey adds on and it’s okay? His face pulled into a deep frown.

Rey, finally free of the Solo-Bacca-Calrissian love fest, made her way back to her date for the holiday and immediately noticed his displeasure at being kept out of the loop.

“Don’t worry about it,” she murmured, reaching up to smooth the crease between his eyebrows before settling her hand on his cheek. Ben didn’t look convinced, but he leaned into her touch anyways.

“I’m always worried about what he says,” he replied, breaking eye contact to glare at Han’s retreating form. Rey took her hand off of his cheek and grasped his hand instead, tugging him to sit down on the couch. 

“Why don’t we sit and talk about next semester’s classes? You mentioned wanting to submit for that paradox class a while ago, but I didn’t hear if the  
board had followed up.” She rearranged them so they were hip to hip, and he cautiously wrapped an arm around her. 

Suitably distracted, the tension from Ben’s body drained as they sat entwined for hours, finally getting up to eat dinner when summoned by Leia.

\-------------

Dinner with the Solo’s could never be boring, Rey decided.

Every other word from Han was dripping with innuendo, and being with Chewie and Lando seemed to egg him on further.

Leia had commandeered a wooden spoon from the kitchen and was using it to smack Han’s arm every time he got to be too much. This, of course, was quite often since he felt the need to continue to make jokes at Ben’s expense. Rey’s reserves of witty responses had been drained by her earlier encounter with the man, and she could tell Ben was growing more and more uncomfortable. Reaching under the table, Rey grabbed his left hand in her right, lacing their fingers and squeezing lightly. 

Ben smiled softly at her, returning the squeeze. Patience was never his forte, but he doubted she would mind if they left dinner early. Both of their plates had been emptied a while ago, but he had let his father embarrass both of them long enough.

He cleared his throat, and addressed Han, “I think we’ve had enough of the dinner show for one night. We’ll be going back to my room now, if that’s fine with you.” Han went to make another jab at what they’d possibly be doing in his room when Leia cut him off with a glare and a sharp smack with the spoon. The pair pushed away from the table and headed toward the stairs. 

Rey could hear Leia’s voice rising as they ascended the stairs, shouting, “Now he’s never going to bring her back here again! We won’t see them again unless they get married!” She smiled to herself sadly. All in all, her first day of family interactions hadn’t been that bad, and she would miss them later on. Lost in thought, Ben pushed open the door and then stood staring at her as she paused in the hallway. Realizing her mental absence, Rey blushed and walked past him to settle in a chair in the corner of the room.  
“So, uh, how is this sleeping thing going to go?” Ben asked awkwardly, hand on the back of his neck yet again. Rey snapped fully out of her thoughts then.

“Did you, a grown adult man, just refer to it as the ‘sleeping thing’?” She teased him and he groaned. 

“You know exactly what I mean, Rey,” he tried to say sternly, but failed to keep his face straight while she laughed at him.

“I think that I’m going to go put some comfortable clothes on, and then test out the flat screen. Feel free to join me!” she exclaimed, “Or, you can go back downstairs and hang out with your parents, if that sounds like fun?” She pulled a t-shirt and a pair of soft pants and a hair brush and turned to open the door to the ensuite.

Assuming that his father and his uncles would go outside to drink by the lake, catching up with his mother was an option. But getting to spend time with Rey, with him in his bed? That was too rare to pass up. Decision made, Ben rifled through his drawers for a pair of sleep pants and a more casual shirt. Stripping off his sweater and pants, he pulled the flannel sleep pants on. 

Before he could get his shirt back on, Rey flung the bathroom door open. “Hey Ben, have you seen my…” she trailed off as she drank in the sight of Ben shirtless. He was more muscular than she expected, with lightly defined abs and pectoral muscles. A flush creeped onto Ben’s face as Rey didn’t look away from his bare chest.

“I usually sleep shirtless, because I overheat sometimes,” he stuttered, “but I figured, common courtesy, you know?” Ben awkwardly lifted the shirt clutched in his hand as Rey nodded quickly. 

“Right, right,” Rey agreed, “you don’t have to if you don’t want to though. If you’d be more comfortable without it, I can’t say I’d be mad,” she added, gaze flicking between his chest and his face.

“Are you sure?” Ben wasn’t sure if he was asking about the shirt or the boundary it felt like they were crossing, but Rey’s answering nod shoved the thought out of his mind. A silent choice was made, and both settled in either side of the bed as Ben turned the TV on.  
“Do you have Netflix?” Rey asked, yanking her hair up into a rough approximation of a bun.

“Yes, we do. I’m assuming you want to watch the Breakfast Club?” 

“You read my mind.”

A hundred minutes later, both Rey and Ben were passed out, missing Judd Nelson as he stood with his fist in the air on the screen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took me a bit to update!! writer's block and life got in the way. should I make a playlist to go with this story? I lowkey already have one started, so let me know in the comments :)


	5. Something Like Peace

Light filtered in through the slats in the blinds, slowly awakening Rey. She felt warm, content. For a moment, everything was peaceful. 

And then she realized that the warmth that she was wrapped around was not a blanket, but a person. A person who she was not supposed to have feelings for. A person that she would have to go back to a platonic relationship with in 24 hours. That shook the contentedness off completely. Slowly, she tried to extract herself out of Ben’s arms. Her head had been cradled in the crook of his neck, with both of his arms wrapped around her, which was proving to be the difficult part. As Rey pulled away, Ben sleepily pulled her back in tighter. She sighed. She wasn’t going to get out of this as easily as she had hoped. 

Rey was loathe to wake him. Sleep erased all of the stress that he carried around with him, whether he’d admit that he had it or not.

“Ben, can you please let me go?” She whispered, pulling a hand free to touch his cheek. He grumbled in his sleep, still not releasing her from his death grip.

“Honey, I need you to let go,” she tapped him on the cheek, “I have to use the bathroom.” The nickname had slipped out as easily as breathing, and hopefully he wouldn’t remember her using it.

His face scrunched, and then his eyes opened.

“Rey, why are you on top of me?” 

Rey looked pointedly to where he was clutching her to his chest. 

“Oh. Oh! Why didn’t you wake me up sooner?” Ben yanked his arms back and Rey shifted off of him.

“You looked peaceful. I didn’t want to interrupt.” She flashed a smile before turning and padding into the ensuite. With the door closed behind her, Rey took a deep breath and steadied herself in the mirror. Quickly she took care of her business and brushed her teeth. Opening the door slowly, she peeked out to make sure Ben was decent.

He had propped himself against the headboard, and appeared to be in the middle of a conversation with himself. The hands dug into his hair indicated that it wasn’t going well. He looked…..vulnerable.

“Is everything alright?” Rey asked from the doorway. Ben snapped out of his reverie, mask slipping back into place. His eyes flicked up to hers.

“I’m fine,” he said, nodding as though it would be enough to convince her of the truthfulness of his words.

“Are you sure?”

“As sure as I can get right now,” he asserted. Rey mentally debated whether to push further, but decided that it wasn’t her place to push him.

“Okay. I’m going to get dressed, and then see if I can find your mom and those baby pictures she promised me. And maybe some food too.” She smirked, trying to lift his mood. All she got back was a weak smile, but it was better than nothing.

\--------------

Waking up with Rey had been one of the greatest experiences of Ben’s life. He was not a peaceful person, and had spent most nights of his life restlessly tossing and turning. 

He had woken up the first time she had tried to get up, but had continued feigning sleep to prolong the moment as long as he could. Ben knew he was a goner a long, long time ago. Realizing that he never wanted to wake up alone again was a step beyond that. He contemplated coming clean with his feelings for her right there and then, but he didn’t have the courage to follow through. Instead, he pleaded with whatever higher power that he would find the strength to confess his feelings before they went home and she was beyond his grasp again.

Hopefully they worked fast, because he had twenty four hours to find the right words.

\--------------  
Rey walked downstairs to find Leia at the kitchen table with a mimosa in hand. A pile of photo albums sat in a pile in front of her. “I figured you’d want to see these, so I pulled them out of storage. Happy Thanksgiving by the way. You want a drink? I have champagne and orange juice, but I’m sure I could scrounge together a bloody mary if that’s more your style,” she said without looking up from the book in front of her. 

Rey smiled to herself at Leia’s bluntness, and breakfast choice. “A mimosa is fine, thank you.” Leia pulled another glass out of what seemed like thin air, and heavily poured the champagne, topping it off with a bit of orange juice.

“It makes the holidays so much more interesting,” Leia explained, before patting the seat next to her. 

It was evident to Rey that Leia had documented every single moment of Ben’s youth in photographs. Everything from bubble baths and embarrassing haircuts that showed his unproportional ears to first days of school were documented in one of Leia’s albums. She had a story about each picture, and the two women laughed at some of Ben’s childhood antics while they waited for the rest of the house to venture downstairs. 

“He was always so worried about what everyone else thought of him. Even when he was little,” Leia said, absentmindedly stroking a picture of her son from his early teenage years. “He just wanted to be liked so much. And we knew he was smart. We thought he was going to change the world,” Leia smiled wryly.

“I think he does in his own way,” Rey intoned softly, reaching out to place her hand on top of Leia’s. “I may be biased, but I have seen him teach, and I think he changes the world through his students. He opens up ways of understanding the universe that they haven’t considered before, and gives them the tools to make a difference.” She had seen the results, and knew he was an incredible teacher. His classes were always full, and the waitlist was long, no matter how academically rigorous the curriculum was. 

The older woman smiled widely at Rey. “I’m so glad he has you, dear. I see how he looks at you.” Rey blushed, looking away from her. 

“I’m happy I have him too.”

“Please don’t break his heart.” Leia said, and for a second Rey feared she could see right through her.

“I won’t,” Rey affirmed, even though it burned her to say it. “I promise.”

In the breath after, Han and Lando stumbled into the kitchen. Han dropped a kiss to the top of Leia’s head, and then took a look at the baby books that sat between the two women seated at the table. Lando caught him before he could get himself into trouble before 10 am, saying, “Luke called and said he’d be getting in by noon. He’s excited to meet the mystery woman that Ben has been keeping from us all this time.”

“So, mystery woman, how much do you know about cars?” Han questioned, before adding, “I don’t know if my son told you, since he seems to like keeping things to himself, but I fix up cars in my spare time.”

“I majored in mechanical engineering, alongside philosophy. So I’d say I know a little bit about cars,” Rey’s eyes shined with mirth.

Ben’s father and uncle dragged her excitedly into the garage to show her their toys as Leia set to work on Thanksgiving dinner. She worked best cooking alongside her brother, Luke, but he wasn’t going to be there until later and Han was a hot mess in the kitchen. 

\---------  
Ben decided he’d done enough sulking in his room and ventured downstairs to find his mother elbow deep in apples in the midst of an apple pie. He seamlessly took over from her as she moved on to working on sides for dinner for seven. He had spent some of his youth with his mother in the kitchen when she would stress bake during election seasons. Apple pie was her best dessert, and it brought warmer memories of his childhood to the forefront as he worked. 

“Your uncle is coming to dinner, and Han and Lando have Rey with them in the garage. I haven’t seen Chewie yet. Did you purposely not tell Han that your girlfriend knows as much about cars as he does?”

“It never came up in conversation,” he said innocently, eyes never leaving the filling he was preparing. 

“Never came up in conversation my ass. You just wanted to keep her to yourself.”

“Is that so wrong? I still don’t know what she said to him yesterday that he thought was so entertaining.” Ben snapped, beginning to regain some of the tension that had been released by a good night’s sleep. 

Leia rolled her eyes. Solo men were exhausting. “Just finish that pie before you destroy it,” she ordered, before adding, “I think that whatever she said made Han believe that she’s the greatest thing that has ever happened to you. I don’t see why that’s so wrong.”

“That’s the problem,” Ben huffed. It was going to be a long evening for everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm anticipating two more chapters after this one! hopefully we can find a solution for Rey and Ben before they both lose it or it's going to be trouble in paradise. I promise there will be a reylo kiss. I can't promise it will be uninterrupted though :) as always, please leave me comments!!

**Author's Note:**

> not sure where the idea where this came from but a big thank you to veronicabunchwrites on Tumblr for the fake dating prompt:   
> "I’m your assistant and you just informed me that your entire family thinks we’re dating and you don’t want to let them down."
> 
> unbeta'd, so please leave constructive criticism, comments, etc! help me improve!!


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